Dave Allen, the bass player for postpunk band Gang of Four whose playing style was one of the group’s signatures, has died.
Allen died Saturday, April 5 at the age of 69, former bandmates Jon King and Hugo Burnham wrote in a social media post. “It is with broken yet full hearts that we share the news that Dave Allen, our old music partner, friend, and brilliant musician, died on Saturday morning. He was at home with his family,” the post reads.
“Dave had endured the early-onset of mixed dementia for some years which has been a heartbreaking time for his wife Paddy, his children, and close friends,” the post, written by Burnham, continues. “Our love and thoughts are with them. Jon and I [Hugo] went to see him and spent a lovely afternoon with him and the family. We talked and laughed for hours, sharing rich and vivid memories of good times together. Adventures, careers in music, raising families, our interwoven lives spanning half a century. We’ve been so very lucky to have had the Ace of Bass in our lives.
“We know that Dave would have wanted nothing more than to step onstage with us again in Portland on our farewell US tour. But it’s now a bridge too far. Goodbye, old friend.”
Allen joined Gang of Four after the band — initially consisting of guitarist Andy Gill, King and Burnham — replaced bassist Dave Wolfson after a handful of gigs. Allen’s funk-infused bass playing juxtaposed with Gill’s jagged guitar gave Gang of Four an instantly recognizable sound. Their 1979 debut album Entertainment! was a critical favorite (if not a huge commercial success) and is considered a foundational part of the postpunk sound, influencing bands ranging from R.E.M. to Nirvana. Entertainment! was named by a number critics as one of the best albums of the 1970s, and it made Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Allen also played on Gang of Four’s second full-length album, Solid Gold, and two EPs, an untitled 1980 12-inch known as the “Yellow EP” for its sleeve color and 1982’s Another Day/Another Dollar. He left the band after that but reunited with King, Gill and Burnham for 2005’s Return the Gift and an official live recording of Entertainment!, also released that year.
After leaving Gang of Four, Allen founded the band Shriekback with former XTC member Barry Andrews. The band released six albums in the 1980s, peaking in the U.S. with a pair of top 20 modern rock singles in 1989, “Intoxication” and “Shark Walk.”
Allen also played in The Elastic Purejoy and Low Pop Suicide and founded the indie label World Domination Recordings, which released albums by both bands. He moved into the business end of the music industry with positions at Intel and Beats, moving to Apple for a time after the tech giant acquired Beats in 2014.